In a December 20 letter to the Veterans Administration, L.A. Councilman Bill Rosendahl urged that the VA property in West Los Angeles be reserved for the exclusive use of veterans.
Dear Mr. Nicholson:
As a veteran, I urge you to honor our Veterans by preserving the West Los Angeles Veterans Administration property for the purpose of directly serving our Veterans. We have a sacred obligation to provide the utmost care to those who have served and sacrificed for our country.
The West Los Angeles Veterans Administration property has served the needs and interests of veterans for over 100 years. Veterans returning from all of the last century’s wars, from World War I to the Gulf War, have found at the West Los Angeles Veterans Administration property both a center for medical treatment and a refuge for the transition from the horrors of the battlefield to the norms of civilian life; and veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq will have equally pressing needs for service.
The West Los Angeles Veterans Administration property encompasses approximately 400 acres. There are more veterans living within fifty miles of the West Los Angeles Veterans Administration property than in 42 other states combined, making it the ideal place to serve the needs of the men and women who have served our country.
For these reasons, I asked my colleagues on the Los Angeles City Council to adopt a resolution supporting the six principals adopted by the Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES) Local Advisory Panel (LAP) on September 22, 2005. The Council unanimously approved the resolution and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa approved our action.I am now writing you to let you know the City of Los Angeles officially supports preserving the West Los Angeles Veterans Administration property for the purpose of directly serving our veterans and to ask you ensure that the property continues to be used to directly serve our veterans.
